On September 26, Urban Green Lab co-hosted a Climate Week Cook-Off with 1 Hotel Nashville to showcase the connection between food waste and the climate, share sustainably made dishes from three local star chefs, and foster discussion about how we can all play a role in reducing food waste.
Chefs Bianca Morton with the Nashville Food Project, Chris Crary with 1 Kitchen, and Skylar Busch with Edible Nashville competed to create the ultimate zero-waste dish. The challenge for the night was to incorporate every piece of a turnip into their dishes, and the chefs knocked it out of the park!
Our esteemed panel of judges, including Kendra Abkowitz, Chris Chamberlain, Java Hemmat, and Stephanie Roach, critically evaluated each dish for taste and sustainability. They awarded Chef Skylar Busch the Waste Less Whisk, selecting him as the winner of the evening for his Miso Braised Turnip.
The Fan Favorite award was given to Chef Chris Crary for his Turnip Tonnato.
As the chefs turned kitchen scraps into culinary masterpieces, guests had the chance to savor complimentary tastings and light bites while learning about cutting-edge sustainability initiatives. Attendees heard from Urban Green Lab on the state of food waste in Nashville and the U.S. and the connection between food waste and a changing climate. Kendra Abkowitz, Senior Director of Sustainability and Resilience for Mayor Freddie O'Connell, also shared about the city's goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.
Attendees walked away with inspiration for their kitchens and actionable ways to reduce food waste in all the places they learn, work, and live.
About Urban Green Lab:
Urban Green Lab (UGL) is a Nashville-based nonprofit founded in 2009 that teaches communities how to live sustainably. It works to ensure everyone has access to sustainable living education. To do that, UGL organizes, trains, and connects people in classrooms, households, and workplaces—places where culture begins. In all these places, UGL incorporates education on two important sustainability topics for Nashville: environmental justice and food waste, connecting everyday decisions to the impact on our neighbors and the planet.